Hostile Territory
by era909
Summary: From the Manticore Missions Files. It's 2011 and Manticore has been asked to demonstrate the capabilities of the X5's.
1. Chapter One

Hostile Territory 

Title: Hostile Territory 

Subtitle: Manticore Mission #X5002-541 : Balkans 

This story is a part of the Manticore Mission Files created by Infie. 

Author: Era 

Contact: era@wotmania.com 

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Introduction: The outline for this story came from spikeswench's reponse to my request for mission profiles. The concept of the infantry unit in the Balkan War was hers. Thank you spikeswench! 

Then I was thinking about my favourite authors, and I could think of no one better to write a mission than Era. Once you start this, you will see why. Thank you, Era! Now on with the story! 

- Infie 

  
  
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Disclaimer: Cameron/Eglee own the concept and the characters of Dark Angel. The show belongs to Fox (may they burn in the flames of hell for eternal time). All original characters are my own creations. 

Rating: PG-13 / Light R. 

A/N: Co-production between Infie and myself. The idea for the mission came from her. The writing is done by me and all beta work (and trust me, this is probably more work than the writing itself) by Infie. 

  
  
  
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**_Mission X5002-541 : Hostile Territory_**

  
  
**Chapter One.**

_Manticore, outside Seattle, Wa._

_February 10th 2011 - 0700 hours._

494 ignored the guard posted outside the door and opened it quickly, stepping inside. The small briefing room was occupied by three other X5s, sitting in chairs, waiting for whatever was going to happen. He didn't know any of them but that was no surprise to him. After almost two years in Psy-Ops and re-indoctrination he barely recognised his own unit anymore. The X5s eyed him carefully as he entered. 494 ignored them and took a seat on the other side of the table, positioning himself so he could study the others and at the same time watch the door without being obvious. He had been ordered to report here right after the morning roll call. It had worried him a bit, but seeing the other X5s here as well made him relax slightly. He couldn't recall himself doing anything wrong, and it was not likely the other soldiers had all done something they were to be punished for. That meant something else was going to happen. 

The other three X5s sat silently, waiting patiently for their superior officers to arrive, and 494 surveyed them surreptitiously. A dark haired, tall boy was sitting beside him. He looked slightly familiar but 494 couldn't quite place him. The two others were a short, skinny boy and a blond girl, neither of which he recognised at all. They were all wearing the same blank Manticore expressions on their faces, and he couldn't tell anything more about them from the way they looked. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the doorknob turn and quickly stood at attention, facing the door. He noticed with satisfaction that the other soldiers were a little too slow to get up before Colonel Lydecker entered the room. 

"At ease, soldiers," Lydecker ordered. 

The X5s relaxed slightly but remained standing, waiting for further orders. 

Lydecker walked up behind the desk and opened his dispatch-case, taking out several papers. "Sit down." 

He waited a few seconds while the soldiers took their seats, and then turned on the overhead projector. "Manticore has been asked to demonstrate the capabilities of the X5 soldiers in a combat situation. You are about to be sent on your first mission as soldiers for the United States of America." 

494 carefully studied the large map of the Balkans that the colonel placed on the overhead projector. The city of Split was marked in red. He concentrated on holding back the excitement from his face. They were going on their first mission. 

"You have been selected for this mission because you meet the requirements and have the skills necessary to complete the objective." Lydecker fastened his eyes on the soldiers, one at a time. "I expect this mission to be carried out without any complications," he said with a harsh voice, leaving no doubt what would happen to anyone who failed. 494 met his stare with a blank look. He was used to it by now and the colonel no longer scared him like he had before. The doctors on the other hand... He shivered slightly at the memory. 

Lydecker handed out the blue mission brief folders. The soldiers waited for his nod before they opened them. 494 quickly read through the information, his mind already going through the different phases of the mission. 

"This," the colonel started, placing a new overhead picture on the projector, "is the city of Split, in what used to be Croatia. The Serbian nationalists currently hold it, but the control of the city has changed hands several times the past few years. We don't know exactly where their headquarters are, but we believe it's somewhere in the eastern parts of the city." 

494 hid his surprise. The colonel had just admitted there was something he didn't know. That was something he'd never done before, as far as 494 knew. 

"The objective is to locate the HQ and eliminate it. Obtain all intel you can find and evacuate to the extraction point once the objective is completed." Lydecker leaned forward, looking coldly at the young soldiers. "Do not let anyone see you. If you're compromised you make sure to eliminate the threat. Understood?" 

"Sir, yes sir!" 

"Any questions?" 

494 stood immediately. "Sir, the standard unit for a mission like this is five soldiers. Why are there only four being sent?" 

He saw Lydecker's jaw clench and knew that whatever the reason was, it wasn't something the Colonel liked. 

"You will be accompanied by Lieutenant Andrews from Special Forces. He will carry out the mission with you and evaluate your capabilities in battle." 494 saw the slight twitch at the corner of the colonel's mouth. "Lt. Andrews has been informed that he will evaluate the capabilities of specially trained infantry soldiers that have been in training for ten to twelve years. He has not been informed about the specifics of the Manticore project." 

So they were going be monitored even now. By someone who had no idea what they were or what they were capable of. This might turn out to be even more fun than he'd thought. 

"Any further questions?" Lydecker asked, and got nothing but silence in reply. "Good, gather your equipment and be prepared to leave in four hours. Dismissed!" 

***** 

494 followed the others to the armoury. There had been a short description of each of the X5s in the mission brief folder. He wasn't sure how he liked that. It was good to know what the other soldiers were capable of, but the glances they kept giving him told him the time he spent in Psy-Ops and reindoctrination could be a burden for him on this mission. The commanding Officer on the mission was the dark haired boy, X5-909. His record was good, not great but good. X5-241, the blonde girl, was the unit's sniper. She was about as good with the rifle as he had been before the whole '09 mess. The shorter of the boys, X5-962, was the one with the most impressive records, if you could call equalling his own scores from 3 years ago impressive. He was sure they would be good enough to complete the mission; the colonel would never have chosen them otherwise. 

The equipment they were issued for this operation was first class, as was everything they used. 494 liked that they would be armed for stealth more than raw power. Their presence in the targeted area was supposed to be kept secret, so stealth was more important than firepower. Besides, he liked the silenced MP10 better than the clumsy M16, which was still the standard weapon in the US military. The MP10 was lighter and easier to handle, the shorter stock made it faster and deadlier in close range combat - like when entering buildings - and the silencer was first class. He smiled to himself as he received the Glock21C pistol. He would never trade his Glock for any other sidearm, no matter how silenced and discreet the alternative was. 

***** 

Exactly four hours after the briefing ended, the four young X5s stood ready and waiting for the army truck that would drive them the short way to the airfield. They were all clad identically, in urban warfare camouflage in various shades of grey, heavy army boots - specially manufactured in their sizes - and the usual military backpacks. The truck arrived on time and the soldiers embarked it. 494 sat a little distance apart from the others. They had been talking among themselves, shooting quick glances in his direction when they thought he wouldn't notice. He knew they didn't fully trust him. A part of him understood why, and another part wondered how they could distrust someone chosen by the colonel. If he was a liability he wouldn't have been sent on the mission. 

When they reached the airstrip he still hadn't figured out a way to make them trust him. Truth be told, there probably wasn't anything he could say to make them trust him. He would have to prove his loyalty and capability with his actions, on the battlefield. Going into battle with soldiers that didn't really trust him wasn't something he looked forward to, but he couldn't see how he had any choice. He held back a smile as he took his seat in the huge C-5A Galaxy cargo plane. It was packed full with various equipment and supplies. From the labels he'd seen while passing through the cargo area he decided that the supplies probably were for the last of the old US military bases in Europe - the armoured division placed in Berlin, once to meet the threat from the Soviet Union and later to act as training partner for the NATO allies. 494 knew that the US military once had been a lot more active in Europe, but after the Pulse, the crippled economy had forced the United States to withdraw most of their forces from the global playing field. 

This was of course nothing they had been taught in any of their numerous classes. History was one of his favourite subjects though, and no one had bothered to censor the history books. Most of them were from pre-pulse time of course, but so were many of the military strategies they were taught. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that the military strategies and theories he learned made a lot more sense if he had a better understanding of how the world looked when the books were written. 494 doubted that the one who ordered the 1st armoured division to Berlin had even considered the fact that it would be the last considerable force the US had outside its boundaries. Or, for that matter, that the main purpose of that force would be to be on parade and scream for more funding to be able to train efficiently instead of be on guard, prepared to meet the Russian T80's in the First Guards Tank and Third Shock armies. The world had changed and the purpose of the armed forces had changed with it, but many of the theories were still based on the old world. And that was something he tried to remember and see through. One could learn a lot from mistakes made in the past. 

He sensed the huge cargo plane stop climbing as it reached its optimal altitude. It was time to get his head back in the game. Glancing over at his fellow soldiers he found them occupied with their maps, memorizing them and trying to find possible locations for the enemy HQ. He had already memorized the maps, and he had a pretty good idea about where the HQ would be situated. He had no idea how the city looked like now though. How much of it was destroyed and how bad was the situation? Missing those facts made it almost impossible to work out a plan before they got there - and it was probably also the reason why his conclusions didn't match the intel Colonel Lydecker had provided them with. 

The city would probably be in pretty bad shape, he decided. The Balkan War had raged with short breaks for almost twenty years. That was bound to leave some marks on the infrastructure. The Pulse had had disastrous effects on other parts of the world as well. The self-appointed world police had suddenly stood without the means to interfere with local politics anywhere they wanted. While large parts of the world had celebrated, other parts hadn't fared as well. Many third world countries had suffered heavily from the loss of one of their most important trade partners, and had been thrown into chaos. The UN had been forced to withdraw their peacekeeping forces from the, at that time, relatively calm Balkans, and scatter them all over the world. It hadn't taken long before war was once again raging in the Balkans, and the two years that had passed since the Pulse hadn't brought any change. The old divisions were no longer as defined as they once had been. The Serbian Nationalists still held much of the country, but their determination to unite the area once again was mostly gone. The war had turned into something that was not completely, but rather close to, total chaos. 

The Balkan was a full-scale, free for all war zone, and they were heading straight into it. 494 smiled a wicked smile. He liked it. 

***** 

_Andrews Air Force Base, outside Washington, D.C._

The pilot landed smoothly on the huge runway, braking softly and taking the Galaxy to a complete stop at the end of the runway. They wouldn't taxi to any of the terminals or hangars this time. The pilot had no idea what was so secret about their cargo, but judging from the flight pattern, he guessed it was some special ops soldiers. Not that he minded the slight detour they would have to take before they headed to Berlin. Dropping a few parachutes on a small island was way more fun than flying supplies from point A to point B and back again. He could see a huge tanker truck and a HumVee waiting a short distance away. The truck immediately drove up to the plane to refuel it. The HumVee stopped behind the cargo ramp and the loadmaster lowered the ramp to let someone on board. He couldn't see who the person was and he doubted he would have recognized whoever it was anyway. Besides, it was probably better to not know. 

494 rolled his eyes at the humour in the situation. Picking up Lt. Andrews on the Andrews AFB. He doubted any of the office-jerks that had planned the flight had even noticed the hilarious coincidence. He turned his head slightly to watch the last addition to their unit. Andrews was a tall, muscular man in his late twenties. He had the same kind of buzz-cut as the X5's and all other soldiers he'd ever seen and was clad in an outfit similar to theirs. The camouflage was not in the exact same shades of grey but it was close enough that it took more than a quick look to notice the differences. A large backpack was slung over one of his shoulders and he carried a bulletproof jacket in his free hand. 494 shrugged. Body armour was something he wouldn't mind having himself. Sure, it restrained your movement a little but it could save your life. And there was no body armour designed that would slow down an X5 to human speed anyway; he would still be faster than the norm without armour. Unfortunately there was no armour designed for anyone of his size either. The Lieutenant boarded the plane and his gaze swept around the interior, no doubt looking for his fellow soldiers. 494 held back a laugh when the norm's eyes found the four young X5s. The look on his face was priceless, complete shock and disbelief. 

***** 

Thomas Andrews saw the huge airplane come in for a perfect landing and taxi to the end of the runway where he was waiting with his equipment. He was curious to meet the new soldiers. The information had been sparse at best. He knew that they had been in training for about as long as he had, and that this was their first mission. Ten years of training was plenty, but going into a war zone with soldiers that had no real combat experience was a little worrisome. He had been to the Balkans twice with his regular unit - before the Pulse, but never close to the location for this operation. He shrugged. His superiors wanted him to evaluate the capabilities of these new soldiers, and that's what he was going to do. He just hoped they had the necessary training to make it in and out from there alive. It would be difficult to report otherwise. 

Climbing up the cargo ramp and into the airplane he studied the interior. The cargo area was about half-full, mainly with supplies - for the base in Berlin he supposed. The equipment they would need was placed closest to the ramp and fitted with parachutes. Good, everything seemed to be in order so far. He climbed the stairs to the passenger area. Hesitating, he glanced over to the few chairs in the uncomfortable passenger area. The seats looked empty. His jaw dropped when the face of a young boy peered around the back of a chair. What the fuck was this? Three more faces appeared, watching him carefully. Two more young boys and... was that a girl? Blinking quickly a few times he looked around for the hidden cameras that had to be there. Finding nothing, he drew a deep breath and forced himself to calm down and proceed toward the kids. 

909 stood and saluted the newly arrival. "Welcome on board sir! I'm X5-909, I'll be your commanding officer on this mission." 

Andrews dropped his backpack. 

They were kids for Christ's sake! Regaining his composure, he took a closer look at the figures in front of him. They looked like they were about ten to twelve years old, barely old enough to be left home alone for an evening. But there was nothing childlike in their behaviour. Meeting the eyes of the boy in front of him he felt chills running down his spine. The hardness in those eyes was not to be mistaken. He reached out to shake hands with the boy in front of him - might as well be polite, he decided. The boy looked puzzled at his outstretched hand before grabbing it awkwardly. Andrews eyes widened in surprise as he felt the strong grip. No matter what they looked like, they were surely not normal kids. Stepping back from X5-909, he quickly studied the three other kids. The boy and the girl who sat on his left eyed him with eyes equally as hard and emotionless as 909's had been. The lone boy on the right however, looked at him with an expression that could only be described as amused. Okay, he had probably shown his shock clearly when he first saw them. Trying to regain his dignity he took a seat next to the lone boy. This was _not_ what he had expected to see, and he couldn't really decide if it made the whole thing more interesting, or made his wish to be somewhere else even stronger. 

494 took a closer look at the soldier at his side. He had been surprised to see them, which was understandable, but he had been quick to accept the situation. Of course he should be, after all he was a soldier. "What's your designation?" he asked. 

Andrews gave him a quizzical look. "My what?" 

"Your designation, sir," 494 repeated. 

"I'm Lt Andrews." Was that what the boy meant with designation? 

"That is a name, not a designation." 

"That is my name, Thomas Andrews. To you I'm Lt Andrews." This was getting irritating. "I don't have a designation," he added to avoid further questions. They boy studied him for a second before he spoke again. 

494 eyed the man carefully. He didn't have a designation? But he was a soldier; he had to have a designation. All real soldiers did. The trainers and the guards back at Manticore didn't have any of course. But they were not real soldiers either. Andrews was a soldier in a fighting unit, a special ops unit, and yet he didn't have a designation. That was interesting to say the least. Maybe norm soldiers didn't have designations? 

He decided to drop the subject for now. "I'm 494," he introduced himself instead. "We'll be working together on this mission." He hadn't been told that straight out of course. How the unit would be split up was to be decided by the commanding officer, and 909 hadn't said anything about it yet. However, judging from the glances he got from the other X5s 494 knew he would be paired off with the norm. 909 and 962 would be Team A and he and the norm would be Team B. 241 would observe and provide cover with her rifle. It was an interesting situation. Being the one to work closest with the norm, the person who would be evaluating them, he would have the best chance to have an influence on the report. Colonel Lydecker had made it perfectly clear that a bad report was not something that could be tolerated. He was pretty sure that 909 didn't realize exactly how important this was. If he did, he would have placed the norm with himself. Instead he had chosen to work with the soldier he trusted the most and leave the norm to the one he didn't trust. 494 knew enough to realize that Manticore would have to get funding from somewhere. And now, all of a sudden, someone wanted an evaluation of how the X5s acted in combat situations. Someone was concerned about the project and needed reassurance. 494 smiled to himself. Interesting indeed. The most important task the X5s had ever been assigned, and right in the middle of it, in the position that mattered the most, they had placed the single X5 that no one trusted. 

494 closed his eyes and commanded his body to relax, to sleep. The training had been slow the past few days and he had been able to get lots of sleep. Now he knew why, but he also knew that the coming days would be exhausting. 'Sleep when you can' was one of the first things they were taught. He would take that advice. 

******* 

The huge cargo plane set course for Europe with a lightly sleeping 494 on board. Had he given it a second thought he probably would have wondered why Colonel Lydecker picked him in the first place. Lydecker knew the other X5s didn't trust him, and probably knew that he would be paired off with the observer. Still, he had been chosen for the mission, and placed in the important position where he found himself. This was something 494 would reflect on a lot in the years to come. 

  
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	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

A/N: I have no idea if the C-5 actually can drop cargo by parachute. Probably not. Just assume some clever engineer found a way to reconstruct it somewhere between now and 2011.

As usual, all thanks goes to Infie.

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**Chapter 2**

  


_Somewhere over the Adriatic Sea, 2340 hours._

  


494 woke as he felt a small shift in his surroundings. The plane was changing altitude once again, and that meant they had to be closing in on their target. The windowless passenger area didn't provide much of a view, but he quickly calculated the time difference from his watch and came to the conclusion that it was close to midnight, local time. It would be dark outside and the risk of being discovered minimal. Glancing around the cabin, he found the other soldiers still asleep. He stretched, his muscles a little stiff after sleeping in the uncomfortable chair for several hours. 

Carefully he nudged Andrews in the side; the reaction he got from this action would tell him a great deal about the other soldier. The norm's eyes opened immediately, taking in the area around him. His hand came up to grab 494's arm, and the other raised in a fist, ready to strike. Just as quickly as he had reacted, he relaxed again when he realized there was no threat. 494 gave him an appreciative smile. He was well trained and alert. He would be able to trust the norm with guard duty and other important things.

"We're almost there," he said in a low voice, explaining why he had awoken the man. Andrews nodded, and a hint of a smile played on his lips. 

A few minutes later the loadmaster came up the stairs. He found three of the kids still sleeping, but the one who sat with the soldier was awake. He made his way over to the three sleeping kids and was just going to wake them up when a harsh command stopped him.

494 saw the norm walk over to 909 and prepare to shake his shoulder. He shook his head slightly. While it would be fun to see the look on the norm's face when 909 reacted, they needed him alive and unharmed. "Stop!" he ordered, and watched with satisfaction as the norm froze. 

"Watch," he told Andrews as he glided past him toward his fellow X5's.

Carefully, he touched 909's shoulder. The reaction was immediate. 909 was up like a shot. He whirled around, aiming a fist at 494's face. 494 blocked it effortlessly and took a step back before 909 could attack again. It gave the other X5 a second to take in his surroundings and override the instinctive reaction. "We're almost there, sir," 494 informed his commanding officer before he turned around and walked back to his seat. He gave the shocked loadmaster a small smile before he sat down again. 

"We need him alive," he explained, seeing the question in Andrews's eyes.

"And he wouldn't have been if he had woken them up?" Andrews asked carefully. 

494 shrugged. "Probably not." The norm probably didn't have any close combat training. After all, he was only here to take care of the cargo and not to fight. He might not have been killed but he would probably have been seriously injured. 

The two other X5s were fully awake now. No matter how tired they were they wouldn't have slept through the small scuffle that had taken place. It hadn't been loud and it had certainly not been long, but they were well trained. 

20 minutes later the loadmaster came back with a worried expression on his face. "The wind is too strong for us to blind-drop the 'chutes," he said. "We'll need someone to go down first and set up a signal for them to target." 

909 didn't hesitate. "494, you'll go down first," he ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Well, that was expected. 909 wouldn't trust the norm and he wouldn't risk any of the soldiers he did trust if it could be avoided. That left him. Still, it was a small step forward. 909 apparently trusted him to set up the transmitter and a small light for them to target. 

He mentally sighed. Now he knew what his next task would be, and it wasn't going to be pleasant. 

Strapping on his parachute and checking all his equipment, he prepared for the jump. They had practiced parachuting many times, but going in strong winds was still a dangerous thing. The darkness didn't really matter to the X5's. He could see as well as in broad daylight. The colours weren't as sharp of course, but that didn't really matter right now.

*****

The pilot glanced nervously at the instruments in front of him. No matter how fun it was to do something different, he didn't feel completely comfortable with this. Too much was depending on him being at the right place at the right moment. Not to mention estimating the wind correctly. He was pretty sure that the consequences for dropping the soldiers and their stuff into the Adriatic Sea wouldn't be pleasant. He quickly double-checked his instruments and sent a quick glance over to his co-pilot for confirmation before he spoke in the radio. "Two minutes."

Silently he thanked the unnamed engineer who had fitted the C5 for these kinds of missions. Dropping supplies by parachute was way more fun than unloading it on the ground. And the fighter-jet style night vision system that had been built in into his plane was excellent. He could see the outlines of the small island in the distance in front of him. He swallowed as he adjusted the grip on his controls. It looked so damn much smaller now than it had on the map. "One minute," he said. He could feel the change in the plane as the cargo ramp was lowered. This was the worst part of the flying. The plane was almost unmanageable with the ramp down. If he missed the approach by the slightest degree the cargo would end up in the sea, instead of safely on the ground.

He never noticed when the first soldier left the plane. In fact, he wouldn't notice when any of the cargo was dropped this time. The combined weight of the soldiers and the equipment wasn't enough to have an influence on the plane at all. The ramp was raised again and he drew a deep breath of relief. One drop done, one to go. They would have to keep going for a distance before he turned back to drop the second load. He had to give the first soldier some time to get to the ground and set up the signal for the others and their equipment.

*****

The wind was tearing in his clothes and throwing him around in the air. Singing in the lines of his parachute, it drowned out the sounds from the rapidly retiring plane. The drift was incredible. At first he thought the pilot had missed the approach. He was only a few hundred meters above the ground but the island was far to his left and a little in front of him. A quick glance at the waves below him was enough to assure him that he would never survive if he landed in the sea. The military parachute he used wasn't designed to be manoeuvrable, but he struggled to utilize the limited control he had over his flight. The pilot had been good at reading the wind though, and he was rapidly closing in on the island. 494 scanned the ground below him meticulously, trying to find a spot without any rocks or other obstacles. Bending his knees slightly, he absorbed the impact and started to pull fanatically at the lines of the parachute, bringing it down to the ground before the wind could catch it and tear him up and away again. 

494 quickly stuffed the parachute under a large stone and took out his tactical radio, used to communicate with his squad members.

Quickly he made his way to the highest spot of the island so he could get a good look at their landing spot. The eastern parts of the island were a little higher and not as flat as the western section. But the wind and the waves had a lot of uninterrupted ocean to gather strength before they crashed into that part of the shore with full force. They would have to come down at roughly the same spot as he had; it seemed to be the best place on the island to land. 

He placed the earpiece in his left ear and strapped on the throat microphone. "494 to 909, radio check, over," he said, not bothering to keep his voice low. The island was uninhabited, so no one was even remotely close enough to hear him. 

909's voice responded immediately. The digital radio was encrypted and just about the safest piece of communication you could buy for money - if you had the right connections.

"Landing area confirmed," 494 reported. "The wind is strong and you'll have to watch out for two rather large rocks a little northwest of my position. Be quick with the parachutes once you've landed. I'm setting up the signal now. 494 out."

Working quickly, he set up a little transmitter for the equipment packages to target. He also took out a small pen-like flashlight from one of his pockets and turned it on. The tiny beam would make it easier for the soldiers to find his location. 

It didn't take long before he could see the C5 in the distance again. It came up against the wind this time, passing the island a short distance west of it. It was a little weird, seeing a huge airplane fly by and not hearing a sound from it until it had already passed. Straining his eyesight, he could see the black parachutes against the dark grey clouds. Briefly he wondered how the military ever could have done drops like this before they could fit the cargo packages with the simple guidance modules that now allowed them to home in on his signal. Leaving the little flashlight on the ground, he quickly got out of the way, clearing the landing area. 

Their equipment came first, two loud thuds announcing their landing. 494 sprinted forward and gathered the parachutes, making sure the boxes stayed on the ground. Within a minute the other X5s and Andrews had landed safely. 

*****

Andrews followed closely behind the three kids as they made the jump. His night vision goggles made the island below appear as a green, fuzzy landmass. The equipment worked really well at close ranges but at a distance the image wasn't very sharp. He could see the bright light from the little flashlight 494 was guiding them in with. The three kids landed gracefully despite the strong wind, and a few seconds later he braced himself for his own landing. 494 had picked a good place, he thought. From what he'd seen during the short fall the selected landing zone was by far the best spot on the island. Quickly he gathered his parachute and hid it. 

Ducking low on one knee he took a quick look at his surroundings. The island was supposed to be uninhabited and no one would be stupid enough to make a trip to this place for fun. If anyone had been here 494 would probably have warned him by now. Andrews had been trained well though, and had learned even more from experience. You could never be too careful.

Everything seemed to be clear. There was no one except the kids in sight. Two of them were occupied with the equipment boxes and the boat. 494 had taken up watch duty, his MP10 loaded and ready and his eyes constantly sweeping over the landscape. Something nagged at him, though. He felt like there was something he had missed, and he never liked that feeling. He studied 494 a little closer and suddenly he realized what it was. It was pitch dark outside, barely enough light for his night vision goggles to work properly, and yet the kid wasn't wearing any. How on earth could he see anything? 

*****

494 let his eyes sweep over the rocky island, carefully watching for any kind of movement or anything that looked out of place. 909 and the two others would take care of the equipment and ready the boat. Refocusing his sight he took in the view of the sea. They would have to wait here for the wind to settle down a little. While it wouldn't be impossible to make it to the shore in this wind, it was too dangerous, and they had plenty of time. The norm was well trained, he noted. He kept an eye on him with his peripheral vision, studying his actions and reactions. 

He saw the norm come toward him, slowly and silently climbing the rocks. Well, silent for a norm at least. 494 had no problems hearing the footsteps even over the roaring sounds of the wind and the waves crashing against the shore. Automatically he tracked the movement, even as he focused on other parts of the island, continuing to keep watch. Andrews stopped and crouched low a few meters in front of him and a little below, making sure he didn't obscure 494's line of sight. 494 made another mental note about the norm. He would be easy to work with.

"How can you see anything without night vision goggles?" Andrews asked.

494 turned his head slightly to look directly at the norm. He was wearing night vision equipment and looked more like a robot than a human being. "Vitamins," he grinned. Sooner or later the norm would find out what they were. But it would be more fun if it was later. With a small smile on his lips he resumed his watch.

*****

909 was irritated. He knew he couldn't control the weather but it still pissed him off. This was his first mission as CO and it hadn't started out very well. The wind was too strong for them to launch the boat now and he hated waiting. 

"Get comms up," he ordered 962. 

The soldier responded immediately and started to assemble their satellite radio.

A minute later he was trying to contact Colonel Lydecker back at Manticore. 

"Cyclone to base, Cyclone to base." 

[Base here. Status report?]

"Cyclone has landed secure. The weather is bad and we won't be able to proceed until the wind slackens. Please advise."

[Acknowledged, Cyclone. Stand by for orders.]

909 let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Someone would tell him what to do and all he would have to do was follow orders. That was always easier than issuing the orders yourself. 

[Base to Cyclone. Meteorology reports say the weather should clear up in a few hours. A cold front has just passed your location and the weather should be good for the next few days. Proceed with the mission as soon as possible. Base out.]

909 quickly relayed the information to 241. "Inform 494 and Lt. Andrews," he ordered.

"Yes, sir!" She sprinted off.

909 glanced at the shadowed figure that was 494. 494 and the human seemed to be getting along well. That was something he couldn't understand. It didn't really matter though. In fact it was probably better this way. No one would complain when he placed them together and he wouldn't have to worry about 494 stabbing him in the back. 

*****

  


_Small island outside Split, 0330 hours._

  


At 0330 hours the weather was significantly better, the wind had calmed enough for them to launch the boat and make it to the shore without too much danger. The small team quickly prepared to leave the island. The boat came with two tubes of compressed air, enough to quickly fill the boat twice. 

"494, lookout," 909 ordered.

"Yes, sir!"

494 hid his amusement. This was damn funny actually. They didn't trust him and did nothing to hide it. He got all the shitty assignments and he knew it would continue this way. The fun thing was that while it wasn't exactly a pleasure to sit at the bow as a lookout, it was the most important position at the moment. And they would let him have it just because it was unpleasant. And unpleasant it would be; he would be soaking wet when they got ashore. 

The boat ride was mostly uneventful. The small, light boat was thrown around by the waves, sending water splashing all over them. 494 blocked the most of it thanks to his position. He could see the shore now and searched for a good spot to land on. The shore seemed to be mostly made up of fine sand, like a nice beach, he observed. They would need to find a spot with harder ground to make sure they didn't leave any footprints. The weather was cold, it was winter after all, but it wasn't freezing so the sand would still be soft. There, a few hundred meters to their right. He gestured to 962 who sat at the rudder to turn the boat slightly. They would have to be careful when they approached the stony part of the shore he'd selected. While their landing would pass unnoticed, they risked destroying the boat against the stones if they were too slow. 494 quickly gestured to 909 to join him. This was the dangerous part of the boat ride and two lookouts would be better than one. The shore seemed to be completely abandoned. Except for the rolling waves against the beach, he couldn't see any movement at all.

962 shut off the engine and let the waves carry them the last short distance to the shore. 494 and 909 jumped out as soon as they got close enough and lifted the boat, letting it slide over the rocks instead of crashing straight into them.

Andrews gasped as the boat was lifted off the ground with three people still in it and dragged lightly over the rocks. It wasn't time for questions now, but as soon as they were settled down he and 494 were going to have a little chat.

The small team gathered their equipment and let the air out of the boat. Andrews studied the terrain around him. The small cape they had landed on was actually a rather large park; he knew that from the maps. It was a good spot to land on. No real activity and no buildings the enemy could use as lookout towers to spot the boat from. The war had raged for so long that most of the advanced equipment on both sides had either been completely destroyed, or at least damaged beyond their capability to repair. For example, none of the sides had any working radar stations and the air force was a thing of the past. In 2008 when he'd last been here on a reconnaissance mission while the situation still was under control, the only air assets he'd seen (except for the peace keeping forces NATO still had on location at that time) was one badly damaged helicopter sitting on the ground in a hangar. The old Russian MI24 Hind had been operational, but barely so. He knew he would never have agreed to fly on it.

Still, the place was definitely hostile territory and they would have to be on their guard. They hid the boat under some large bushes near the shore, but not close enough to be spotted if the enemy patrolled the beach.

"We split up," 909 ordered. "494 takes the lead with Lt. Andrews, 241 takes the middle and I'll cover the rear with 962."

*****

494 moved soundlessly through the wood, his feet automatically finding the hard spots that left no trace and made no sound. He could hear Andrews following five steps behind, using his night vision equipment to move as silently as any norm he'd ever met. They needed to set up a base of operations before dawn, preferably in some abandoned building close to the park. His eyes moved restlessly over the terrain, constantly searching for any kind of danger. He lifted his foot to take another slow step when something caught his eye. A few yards in front of him was a small bare area without any vegetation. He held up his fist as a signal to Andrews behind him. {Stop.} He knew Andrews would relay the signal to those who came after them. 

Carefully he studied the bare ground. Something didn't feel right. He scanned the ground to his right and moved a short distance in that direction to get a slightly different angle to the area of his concern. There, something metallic. 494 drew a sharp breath. No wonder they didn't bother to guard the shore, he thought. Turning around slowly he saw Andrews a few steps away. The norm hadn't moved since he got the signal to stop, which was good.

494 clicked on his radio. "Three to Six, over," he said.

[Six, over.] 909's voice was low and controlled. They were in their native environment now.

"We have a minefield ahead."

The radio went silent for a few seconds.

[Copy that, Three. Pull back.]

"Affirmative, Three and Four are pulling back. Out."

He signalled to Andrews to move and they retraced their steps back to the others.

*****

Andrews was getting frustrated. They had tried to go around the minefield at the south and found that it stretched all the way down to the shore. Now they had slowly made their way through the wood again up to the northern part of the cape and were trying that way. The darkness wouldn't last much longer and they still had to find cover before the locals got up.

How 494 had spotted the first mine he had no idea. He'd studied the same spot as the kid had but hadn't seen anything unusual. It bothered him. Not that the kid had spotted it before him, but that he hadn't seen it at all. Not even when he knew it was there. He mentally slapped himself. He was getting soft and careless, and that could get him killed.

Thankfully 494 was able to find a passage through the minefield at the northern side and it wasn't long before he could see the silhouettes of buildings against the brightening sky. Many of them were merely ruins but a few seemed to be habitable. They would have to stay away from those, though. The possibility that others used them would be too high and they couldn't afford being detected.

494 turned his head slightly with a questioning look. Andrews quickly studied the buildings in sight and pointed to one a short distance away. 494 nodded and continued in the direction he'd been heading. Apparently they both had had the same building in mind. It was a small two-storey house that was in a fairly good condition, except for a roof that had caved in. It was enough to prevent anyone from living there permanently, but good enough for a temporary base of operations.

*****

They quickly settled in and reported back to base. Dawn had arrived and they would have to lay low. 494 stretched and peeked out through one of the windows. The glass had been smashed to pieces long ago and the window was nothing but a hole in the wall now. Andrews came up and took position at the other side of the window. The norm yawned silently and 494 rolled his eyes. "Sleep if you're tired," he said. "You need to be fully rested tonight."

Andrews gave him a grateful look. "Aren't you going to sleep?" he asked. 

494 shook his head. "We don't need much sleep."

Andrews nodded slowly and turned to leave. He got a step before his curiosity got the better of him and he turned around again. "How did you lift the boat with us in it?" he blurted curtly. 

494 could see that the norm wasn't really angry, more irritated. He wanted to know how they could do the things they did. It wasn't time to tell him yet, though. A memory of something he'd read in a book several years earlier came back to him and his lips twisted into a grin. 

"Spinach," he said. "Sleep now."

Tonight the real work would begin.

-----

  
  
  



	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: See chapter one. 

A/N: A little shorter this time but hey, I'm trying!

-----

**Chapter 3**

_Split 0925 hours._

Andrews had fallen asleep and 962 was resting as well. 909 and 241 were talking with low voices, crouched around their maps. 494 returned his gaze to the scenery outside the window. The city was in even worse shape then he had projected. From what he could see from his position, only about one third of the buildings looked to be relatively unharmed. Several others would be habitable too, but many buildings were reduced to heaps of rubble. If the situation was like this throughout the entire city, it would narrow down the scope of their search a little, which was a good thing. The ruins would provide them with good cover while they searched the streets for their target. However, it also left them more vulnerable to snipers and lookouts positioned in upper levels in any of the remaining buildings. 

He could see several soldiers patrolling the streets in small units. Studying them carefully, he tried to estimate how much of a threat they would be. 494 let his eyes focus on one of the soldiers a few hundred meters away. A normal human would only have seen a figure walking on the street, but to 494 the soldier could have been standing only a few steps away. The man was clad in camouflage gear. Not urban camouflage though but the green standard camouflage designed for forests and fields. 494 made a mental note about that. They were obviously lacking equipment, which wasn't really a surprise. The soldier was carrying an old AK-47 automatic rifle. The 7.62mm calibre gun had been the standard weapon in the Eastern bloc for as long as anyone cared to remember. Russia had long since replaced it with the newer, small calibre AK-74 but many of the former communist countries still used the original model. The old construction was very loud and not very accurate after a few shots, but it was extremely reliable and could be roughly handled without breaking. It was a good weapon, built for the battlefield. They would have to be very careful to make sure no enemy soldier got off a shot at any of them. The sound would echo over the entire city and draw more attention to them than they could afford. 

None of the enemies were wearing any kind of body armor, he noticed. They were carrying a few grenades in their belts, though. Letting his eyes zoom in on them, he classified them as heavy explosive grenades. Ordinary hand grenades without any special functions. No fragmentation grenades at least, that was a relief. 494 didn't like those little things; they were much too hard to dodge. All the soldiers were carrying a combat knife as well, but none of them had any pistols. 

They were moving carelessly along the streets, chatting loudly with each other, their rifles on their shoulders. 494 could easily hear the words but he had no idea what they were saying. Another mental note; learn the language of the country you're going to. He smiled slightly. All the soldiers were smoking as they walked, bad discipline for a soldier. It would also destroy their night vision if they kept it up when darkness fell again. That was something that would give the X5's and Andrews an added advantage. 'As if you'll need that,' his mind automatically filled in. From the looks of it, this would be easy as soon as they found the enemy headquarters. 'Don't get too cocky now,' another part of his mind interjected. 494 drew a deep breath and forced the first thought from his mind. Caution was what kept you alive. Well, caution and training, but he knew his training was good enough. 

*****

It was early afternoon when Andrews woke up. Stretching his stiff muscles, he took in the view of the room before he got up. 494 was standing by a window, just as he'd been when Andrews went to sleep. The girl was at another window, looking out at the streets and the two boys were resting. They weren't sleeping, but sat relaxed against one of the walls. One of the low tables had been moved to the middle of the room and a pile of bricks had replaced the broken table leg. On the table he could see several maps and various kinds of explosives and detonators. It was the rifle his gaze was drawn to though, a HK PSG-1 sniper rifle that had to be the girl's weapon. It was one of the most expensive rifles in the world and about the same size as the girl. Andrews held back a chuckle as a mental image of the girl flying backwards from the recoil of firing the gun appeared in his head. Somehow he doubted that would happen though. The girl had to be like 494 and the others, and if they could lift a boat with 3 people in it without effort, then shooting a rifle would probably not be a problem. 

He made his way over to 494 and took a position at the other side of the window, just as he'd done earlier in the morning. The street was empty, no movement anywhere. Andrews took his time to study the buildings and assess the condition of the city. "Have you seen any movement?" he asked after a few minutes of silence. 

494 nodded and described what he'd seen. Where they had been and how many they were. How the enemy was armed, their equipment and how they had acted. Andrews listened carefully, making sure to remember the details. It was one of the most important things, to know the enemy. He turned around and let his eyes search the room for a pair of binoculars. When he couldn't find any he turned to 494 with a frown. "Don't you have any binoculars?" 

494 turned his head slightly, keeping one eye on the street - still looking out for any kind of danger - and the other one on Andrews. "Binoculars?" he asked with faked surprise. "They were only a few hundred meters away." 

*****

It was late afternoon before 494 saw any movement again. And this time it wasn't soldiers. He watched, puzzled as a group of kids were running around laughing and yelling, hitting something with oddly shaped sticks. He focused his eyes on the object of their attention and studied it. It looked like a round black rubber disc, about two inches thick and four inches in diameter. One of the kids gave it a hard hit with his stick and another one tried to catch it and failed. All the kids started to cheer. 

494 turned his head slightly to look at Andrews, who was smiling. Smiling? He frowned and looked back at the kids. 

"They're playing hockey," Andrews said with longing in his voice. 

"Hockey?" 

Andrews looked questioning at him. "Yeah, hockey." He could see the question in the boy's eyes and started to explain. "Hockey is a sport. It was quite popular in the US before the pulse and I used to watch the Capitals as often as I could. The Capitals were my team." 

494 searched his mind to find any reference to 'hockey' but came up with nothing. It was obviously not something Manticore thought they would need to know about. At least not yet. 

"It's usually played on ice and with skates on your feet," Andrews continued, caught up in his explanation. "The US was one of the best teams in the world," he smiled. "Only the damn Canadians beat us on a regular basis." 

494 nodded, indicating that he understood. He didn't really, but he made a mental note to look into it when he got back. One of the kids hit the rubber object hard and it landed in the ruins of a destroyed house. 494 could see it clearly from his position but it soon became obvious that the kids had no idea exactly where it landed. After about half an hour the kids gave up their search and left. 

It had been careless of them to be out in the open like that. They lived in the middle of a war zone, after all. 494 reflected on it for a while. They had looked like they were about ten years old at the most. Born and raised in this environment and grown up with the war around them. They probably didn't know anything other than war, and if they were used to war - real war - this calm day was probably one of the better in their lives. Satisfied with this explanation for their irrational behaviour, he focused on other things. 

*****

Andrews saw the other two boys disappear behind a building a block south of them as he and 494 slowly moved through the dark city. The girl was still back at their temporary base with the radio and most of their explosives and other equipment. They were only out scouting now, trying to find the enemy HQ. 494 darted over to a ruin and picked something up. He studied it carefully as he made his way back to Andrews. It was the hockey puck the kids had been playing with, Andrews realized. It was scuffed, and looked like it had seen better days. 494 threw it up in the air and caught it a few times before he put it away in one of his pockets. Andrews smiled; maybe his young co-worker was a future hockey fan. He had to make sure to tell him more about the Capitals; he couldn't let the boy support the wrong team if the NHL ever started up again. 

*****

The two groups of soldiers made their way through the city on empty streets. It looked like all the locals, including the soldiers, went to bed, or at least stayed inside, as soon as darkness fell. It sped up their search, and 494 and Andrews covered several blocks in the northeastern part of the city the first night. 909 and 962 had been moving as fast and covered about the same area but more to the south. The few patrols they saw were easily avoided. 494 and Andrews only saw one patrol the whole night, while the others had avoided a few more. That, 494 thought, was something else that indicated he was right and their intel was wrong. However, they had to search the target area before they could move on to other parts of the city. 

*****

The weather held the next day, yielding a clear sky with lots of stars and a bright half-full moon. The night vision goggles Andrews had were barely needed, and he'd pulled them down to hang from his neck for now. The search yesterday had been fruitless, not a sign of the enemy HQ and hardly any signs of enemy activity at all. He hoped they would be luckier today. The longer they stayed in the area, the higher the chances of being discovered became. 

Andrews moved slowly through the small park. Park Emanuela Vidovica, if he remembered correctly. They had passed the ruins of a church on their right before they got to the park, and he recognized that from the maps. 494 was moving like a shadow ten steps ahead of him. He had to admire the boy's ability to move silently, yet fast. The fact that he was small and light was an advantage of course, but he sensed something else about the boy. He hadn't been told everything and what he'd seen the past days just led to more questions. The other kids weren't even talking to him though, and 494 seemed to enjoy keeping him in the dark. 

They reached the other side of the park and moved out on a street northwest of the park. The rusty street sign was still readable, he noticed as they moved out onto Lovretska. 

*****

909 held up his fist as a signal to stop and 962 immediately stopped, taking a defensive position. {Hold position,} 909 signed before he continued forward on his own. They were on a rather small street called Siniska, which would lead them to Domoviniskograta, one of the largest streets in the city. He hastily made his way to the next street corner and peeked around it. There, just where he thought they would be, was a small group of soldiers. They didn't look like a patrol; more like a few friends standing and talking. He'd heard their voices long before he could see them, and no patrol would be that careless, would they? 

909 motioned to 962 to join him and they quickly evaluated the situation. They could easily avoid the soldiers and continue their search, but at the same time they had no idea if the group had chosen that spot to gather by a coincidence, or if they were close to something important. 909 made the decision and moved carefully toward the soldiers. They could see a church a block away to their right as they moved on to Staviceva. The houses in front of the church had been destroyed and had left a large open area. The soldiers were still talking, oblivious to their company. 

That's when the shout and the shot echoed through the streets. 

The bullet hit the wall a meter behind 962. It was a badly aimed shot, and all it accomplished was to make the X5s notice the lookout in the church tower. Unfortunately, it also alerted the soldiers in front of them. 

962 dove to the ground and rolled a few times to make himself harder to hit. He brought up his gun and aimed at the little window at the top of the tower, his eyes zeroing in on the man behind the rifle. A second later, three bullets hit the lookout in the head and he fell to the ground like a marionette with the strings cut. 

909 threw himself into a nearby doorway as the soldiers opened fire. 962 was lying on the ground behind a part of a razed wall, and the soldiers focused their fire on him. With his gun up and set to single shot fire, 909 moved out from the doorway, staying low to the ground. The soldiers, he counted seven of them, were standing out in the middle of the street without any cover except for their own fire. The X5 quickly fired a few shots, hitting two of the green-clad men, and forcing the others to take cover. 962 took the opportunity and blurred over to 909's side. 

The two X5s shared a look. They could easily take care of this themselves if they had to, but they could also use this situation to find out something that had been bothering them ever since this started. They moved into the house and took up defensive positions, making sure no one could come in without them noticing. 909 clicked on his radio, and in the second before he spoke the thoughts of the two transgenics were identical. Would 494 help if they needed him? 

*****

494 instinctively dove for cover as the sound of a gunshot echoed through the street. He was on his feet an instant later as his mind caught up and told him the shot came from several blocks away. Andrews had crouched low as well, and was now scanning the street for any signs of danger. 494 spun and looked in the other direction, making sure that no one could sneak up on them from behind. 

Several more shots were fired, and 494 could even hear the muffled thunks from a silenced MP10 returning the fire. He signalled to Andrews and they started to make their way toward the sounds of battle. 

[Six to Three, position compromised. Requesting backup.] 

909's voice was calm despite the situation he was in. 

"Affirmative Six, Three and Four are on the way." 494 replied, increasing his speed to a light jog, making sure that Andrews could keep up. 

They quickly covered the few blocks separating them and the other X5s. 494 slowed, then stopped as he reached a street corner. Ducking low, he peeked around it. He couldn't see 909 or 962, but several enemy soldiers were crouched behind whatever cover they could find. Two bodies were lying on the street, and the surviving soldiers were shooting sporadically at one of the houses a few hundred meters away. None of them were paying attention to their rear. 

"We split," 494 said. "I take the other side of the street and you take this one." He didn't even wait for Andrews' nod before he darted across the road and took cover in a doorway. Quickly surveying the area, he found no immediate threats. The only things moving were the five soldiers in front of him, who kept shooting at his CO. He signed to Andrews and they began sweeping down the street, keeping close to the walls to minimize the risk of being discovered. 

494 passed the body of a fallen soldier, lying slumped against the wall. Blood from a gunshot wound at the left side of the chest had coloured his camouflage jacket a bright, arterial red. The man wasn't moving and 494 ignored him. The shot hadn't hit the heart, but wasn't far from it, he noticed before moving on. A few more steps and they were within range. 494 glanced over at Andrews, who had stopped, and crouched low on one knee, his weapon up and ready. He took an identical position and aimed quickly at the soldier closest to him. 

The MP10s were set to semi-automatic fire, three shots with each press of the trigger. 494 and Andrews fired at the same time, taking out one soldier each. He felt the light twitch of the gun as the short burst made it recoil, and he automatically compensated for the movement. The sight barely moved from the target. The body of the first soldiers hadn't hit the ground before the second pair were taken out, and a fraction of a second later three bullets from 494's gun hit the last soldier in the back of his head. 

Andrews got up carefully, his gun still trained on the unmoving soldiers. Out of the corner of his eye he could see 494 mirror him and rise. A peripheral movement caught his eye and he whirled around, his eyes widening as he saw the bloody soldier they had passed charge at 494. 

"Look out!" Andrews yelled as he brought up his gun. 

-----


	4. Chapter Four

-----

Disclaimer: See chapter one. 

Thanks to Infie, Maia and alecsangel.

-----

**Chapter 4**

494 spun around with inhuman speed to face the threat. But no matter how fast he was he couldn't get away this time. Andrews watched horrified as the boy fell to the ground with the bloody soldier over him, the razor sharp combat knife tearing through his camouflage jacket at the left side of his stomach. Andrews couldn't take the shot, afraid of hitting 494 instead of the enemy. What happened next would forever be engraved in his memory.

494 cursed his own stupidity as he felt the soldier crash into him. Something hit him in the stomach and his left hand went down automatically, grabbed the other man's wrist and squeezed. He brought up his legs as he fell, placing the soles of his feet against the man's chest as his right hand found the soldier's throat. The sound of snapping bones seemed loud in the suddenly silent night and the large body went limp. Completing the backward roll, he straightened his legs with all his strength, sending the bloody corpse flying through the air. 494 was on his feet an instant later, grabbing the knife and yanking it loose.

'That's it, no more holding back.' This was a lesson he would never forget. It had been fun keeping Andrews in the dark, holding back and not letting him see their full potential. And it had almost got him killed.

His ears picked up the distant sound of running feet, coming from the same direction as he had earlier. He had dropped his gun when the soldier crashed into him and it lay a few meters away on the sidewalk. Too far to reach. Flipping the knife in his hand, he threw it with all his strength, hitting the first soldier to round the street corner in the chest. He had heard two more and his hand blurred as he drew his Glock.

Andrews jaw dropped. Despite all his training and experience with battle he couldn't do anything but be stunned at the scene in front of him. 494 had taken a knife to the stomach and it hadn't even slowed him down. Quite the opposite in fact. That body had been flying through the air! Almost before he'd realized what was happening the boy was on his feet again, throwing the knife at something or someone. Andrews spun around with his weapon, ready to take out whatever the threat was. A body was falling to the ground at the street corner; the knife 494 had thrown was buried in its chest. A second soldier came into view but fell with two bullets in his head before Andrews had a chance to fire.

494 took out the third soldier with two more quick shots and moved quickly over to his MP10, picking it up and replacing the clip with a fully loaded one. He couldn't hear any more enemies approaching and took a few seconds to reload his Glock too; making sure the weapons were ready for use.

The sound of footsteps made him turn around and he saw Andrews crossing the street in a rush, moving over to him. The norm's eyes were wide and he stared in shock at the gash in 494's jacket. "How? What?" he spluttered.

Andrews almost took a step back as he met 494's eyes. The face that had almost constantly held an amused expression was stone cold. A pair of hazel eyes, eyes that made the night chill seem like a warm summer breeze, met his gaze. Without a word the boy picked something from his pocket and tossed it to Andrews. He caught it automatically and brought it up to look. The scuffed hockey puck now had a deep cut right in the middle of it.

Andrews couldn't hold back the laughter.

494 felt himself relax now that the immediate danger was over. The norm had stopped laughing but his eyes were sparkling with amusement. There were still no signs of 909 or 962 and they hadn't contacted him over the radio yet. Clicking on his own microphone, he called his CO.

"Three to Six, the street is clear. Over."

The response came within a second.

[Six to Three, affirmative. Out.]

It didn't take long before the two X5s came out from the building the soldiers had been targeting, both completely unharmed.

They moved quickly toward each other and the two units met half way. Andrews of course had no idea what was going on behind the scene, but it was obvious that something was wrong. 909 and 962 met them with perfectly blank faces, not showing even the slightest hint of emotion. 494's eyes had, if possible, turned even colder.

"Did you get the answer you were hoping for?" The tone of his voice matched the ice in his eyes perfectly.

909 actually looked embarrassed at the question but answered positively.

"I hope it was worth alerting everyone within a mile of our presence. We need to finish this tonight."

909 simply nodded and gave the order to return to base. They needed to pick up their explosives and everything they would need in order to hit the enemy HQ. If they could find it.

*****

The two pairs moved quickly through the streets, making their way back to their temporary base. They could hear distant shouts and occasional gunshots when some nervous soldier thought a shadow moved. Andrews swallowed a curse; this was not good. Not good at all.

"Six to Five, over." Andrews could hear 909 clearly, even without the radio. They were moving close together and 909 wasn't keeping very quiet.

[Five to Six, over.] 241 responded over the radio.

"We're returning to base, be ready to leave immediately with all equipment except the radio."

[Affirmative.]

Andrews caught himself nodding his approval. Not that anyone was watching him or would have cared, but the order was the right one to give. Movement a block away made them all take cover behind whatever they could find. Fortunately the five enemy soldiers weren't looking their way as they ran in the opposite direction. The enemy soldiers came from the direction of their base but had obviously not found it. 241 would have warned them if they had.

494 approached the house slowly, making sure 241 could see him and knew that they were friendlies. He moved inside and heard the others following close behind. The table had been cleaned off, the explosives and detonators stuffed away in their backpacks. 241 was waiting for them with her rifle in her hands, already carrying her backpack. The satellite radio was still sitting on the table and 909 headed straight for it.

494 ignored him for the time being and quickly went through the contents of his backpack. He knew what it was supposed to hold, but it didn't hurt to make sure everything was where it should be. Until now they had been carrying recon kit, and hadn't packed any weapons except for their guns and a few grenades. The camouflage uniform however was fitted with pockets made for the sole purpose of holding various explosives. He quickly began filling them, taking out a few more grenades and several blocks of C4.

"Cyclone to base, over," he heard 909 say. Straining his hearing, he listened in on the conversation.

[Base to Cyclone, report. Over.] The communications officer at Manticore responded.

"Position compromised, please advise. Over." 494 snapped his head around, looking at his CO. 'Please advise?' Why on earth would he need advice now? It was easy. Find the target, destroy the target, and get out.

Another voice came over the radio. A familiar voice but not the one he'd expected to hear.

[Cyclone, proceed with the mission and eliminate anyone who sees you. Out.]

909 breathed out in relief and 494 held back a groan. How could that soldier ever have become CO? And why was Sandoval issuing orders instead of Lydecker? It didn't matter though, they had to find their target and they had to find it fast. He pulled out a map of the city from a pocket and spread it out on the table.

"We need to move quickly," he started. "This has to be finished tonight." And tonight was half over already. They hadn't been on patrol for long when the fight had taken place but it was still already after midnight. They had to finish this before dawn.

The others moved over to the table, studying the map. They had covered most of the eastern parts of the City the first night and had seen no sign of their target.

"Any ideas?" 909 asked.

"I thi-" 962 started but was cut of by 494.

494 pulled out his combat knife and used the tip of the blade to draw a circle around an area down by the harbour. "They'll be somewhere here."

Andrews raised his eyebrows. "What makes you think that?" He had intended to point out roughly the same area and he wondered how 494 had come to the same conclusion as he had.

"It's the easiest part of the city to protect against attacks. You have to move through the city to reach it, and it leaves them with enough time to evacuate if they need to. If someone attacks it will be from the east, by land. I'd place the HQ a block from the harbour, far enough to make sure no one can launch a surprise attack from the water using SEAL's or whatever they call them here, but close enough to quickly evacuate to a boat."

Andrews nodded. It was what he would have done too. Though, 494 had pointed out more reasons than he'd thought of. If they used one or more boats to get away they could quickly get to the other side of the bay and proceed from there with other vehicles. Or continue to move south by boat if the situation on land prevented them from using the roads.

"But the intel said the target would be in this area," 909 pointed out.

"The intel was wrong," 494 stated flatly, locking his eyes with 909.

Andrews breathed a sigh of relief when 909 nodded. That kid wasn't thinking fast enough on his own to be a good CO. He was too focused on what he'd been told and not on what they knew. And it was obvious he felt more comfortable following orders than making decisions by himself. He seemed to learn fast though, and he knew when he was wrong. With a little more training he could become a good leader. He just had to realize that orders and intel weren't always correct.

They left the radio and a few more things covered in a corner of the building as they moved out. The radio was too heavy to carry if they ended up in a battle, and it would be easier to pick it up once they were moving out. The other things wouldn't be needed until they left.

*****

The small group moved carefully along the empty streets. The stars and the moon illuminated the demolished city, the buildings casting deep shadows along one side of the streets. As they closed in on the sea and approached the harbour the X5's began to pick up the low sounds of the waves hitting the docks.

494 walked point with Andrews, silently moving in front of the other soldiers. They had yet to see a single enemy soldier and 494 grew more and more cautious the further they got. Somewhere in front of them there had to be enemies, and they better find them before they got spotted themselves. 494 dropped to a knee and carefully peeked around the next street corner. They had reached a large open area flanked by lots of destroyed buildings. If their guess was correct they would be close to the enemy headquarters now.

A first, quick sweep showed no immediate threats and 494 took a longer, more detailed look over the area. A few hundred meters away he could see a soldier standing in the shadows of a burned out building. It was clearly a guard, and the position was well chosen. He was concealed in the shadows with free line of sight over a large open area. Close to cover and probably a radio. Had the X5 unit been normal soldiers he would probably have spotted them. Unfortunately for the guard they weren't.

494 held up his fist and made a motion downwards. {Hold position and take cover.} Turning slightly so he could see Andrews out of the corner of his eye he brought up his hand and pointed with two fingers at his eyes and then held up one finger. {One enemy spotted visually.}

Andrews moved forward to the street corner and took position. Straining his eyes he tried to see what 494 was pointing at but couldn't make out anything but shadows and ruins.

"Stay here." 494 whispered and moved away through the shadows without a sound.

Andrews tried to follow his movement but found it impossible to make out any details in the shadows. He concentrated on his hearing, trying to pick up any sounds that would tell him what was happening. One minute passed, and then another. The night was completely silent, save for the distant sound of the sea. Andrews let his eyes sweep over his surroundings in a irregular pattern, carefully keeping a lookout for any movement. He knew the other kids were somewhere behind him, atching his back and making sure no one surprised them from behind. Five minutes later he found it more and more difficult to concentrate on the task at hand. Where had 494 gone and what was the kid doing?

Something poked him on the shoulder and he whirled around, swinging his weapon around to face the new threat.

494 rolled his eyes in the dark. Surprising the norm probably wasn't a good idea, but it had been fun. He grabbed the gun before Andrews had turned it completely around to aim at him and mouthed a silent "easy" to the fellow soldier.

Andrews glared at the boy. He wasn't sure what bothered him the most. That he'd been caught completely off guard and would have been dead if it had been an enemy, or that 494 apparently found the situation hilarious.

494 bent down beside Andrews and talked with a low voice. "I took a sweep around the area," he said, motioning with his hand at the large open area in front of them. "Two guards are neutralised and I found this," he said with a grin, holding up a map of the city.

Ten seconds later Andrews had to restrain himself from letting out a low whistle. They had struck gold. The map was full of military symbols and small notes, and right where they had guessed was a group of symbols. Their target.

The group gathered together and studied the map. Their target was a three-storey building that was situated about a block away from the harbour. The area around it was fairly open, leaving any sentries with a good line of sight, which made the approach more difficult. An old church with a high tower was situated about two blocks from the headquarters. It would be a good spot for a sniper/lookout to cover the area.

*****

494 crouched low, folding his hands together and creating a sort of footstep for 241. When she stepped in it he would throw her upwards and make it possible for her to reach the roof. She took a few running steps and launched herself from the ground, using 494's hands as an extra boost and landed safely on the roof.

Andrews watched silently as the girl practically _flew_ up to the roof. Damn, these kids made ladders and ropes obsolete.

Without any further delay the four remaining soldiers moved out, making their way toward their target. They split up in pairs again as they got closer, Andrews and 494 going to the right and the two other X5's to the left. The shadows made it easy for the X5's to hide their small frames and Andrews did his best to keep up with them.

494 and Andrews came up on a small parking lot with a low concrete wall lining one end, to ensure no cars drove out on the grass behind it. Still concealed in the shadows at the right of the open area they waited for 241 to report in. From her position she would be able to tell whether there were any guards between them and the building and where those guards were. 909 and 962 would approach from the other side and enter the building from the east while 494 and Andrews took the front door from the north.

494 tapped his microphone twice, signalling they were in position and ready to go. A few seconds later he heard the same signal from the other two-man team. 241's voice broke the silence.

[Two guards spotted visually at one o'clock. 70 meters from your position, Three.]

494 tapped his microphone once to confirm.

[Two guards on the roof, standing together and smoking.]

494 could hear the contempt in 241's voice. Smoking on watch was bad discipline. Smoking at night was even worse; it would destroy their night vision and any chances to see anything in the dark. Not that he minded though, the sloppier the enemy was the better the chances for success.

[Two guards at the east side of the building, close to the entrance.]

They would be 909 and 962's problem to handle, 494 knew. Two pair of guards and two more at the roof. More than he would have used but not enough to stop what was about to happen. Of course, 494 would have had better control over the city if he'd been the one in charge. They were probably so used to the war and their own success that they thought themselves out of danger, he mused.

909's voice came in low over the radio. [Take out the guards and move into position. 241, hold until we're in position to take the guards.]

[Affirmative.]

494 tapped his microphone once to confirm. The two of them moved quickly and silently over the street and ducked low behind the concrete wall. Moving on their elbows and knees, they slowly crept toward their targets.

Andrews kept his breathing slow and controlled as he followed behind 494. His body was pumped with adrenaline, ready for action and he forced himself to remain calm. The action would come and he'd be right in the middle of it, but not until it was time. The sound of low voices reached his ears and he strained his hearing, trying to pick up what was being said.

_"Zasto moramo strazariti dvostruku smjenu kad je tako prokleto hladno?"_

_Why do we have to take double watch when it's so fucking cold?_ He translated silently for himself. Cranky guards were great, that meant they were less alert.

_"Znas zasto, kad je Milosevich ovdje uvijek je dvostruka smjena."_

_You know why, when Milosevich is here the guard is doubled._ Andrews's breath caught in his throat. Was Milosevich here? That was almost too good to be true. When he'd been released from the tribunal in Haag due to medical conditions he'd gone straight back to his old home turf. Unfortunately for the people, he hadn't changed a bit and had somehow managed to stay alive for almost ten years since then. If he was here they would have to make sure they got him before they left. It was a nice added bonus.

494 stopped crawling and turned slightly to look at Andrews. Holding up two fingers and pointing at the wall, he signed for Andrews to wait.

Two taps on the microphone let the others know that they were ready to go. A minute later the same signal came from 909.

[Go in ten seconds.] 241 said.

494 started to count down.

At 5 seconds he heard the muffled sound of a silenced shot. One of the guards at the roof was dead.

At 3 seconds the second rooftop guard died.

When he reached 0 he and Andrews leapt up from their position behind the wall and trained their guns at the unsuspecting guards. Two three-shot bursts took out the guards before they even knew they were in danger.

"Milosevich is here," Andrews hissed to 494. "We have to make sure we get him before we leave."

494 just nodded as he vaulted over the wall and moved toward the building with Andrews close behind.

[Thermal scans show 17 hostiles in the building. Most of them are on the first floor but 4 are on the second. About half appear to be sleeping or resting, the others are awake and moving around.] 241 reported.

494 and Andrews took up positions at the sides of the door. Readying a stun grenade each, they prepared to enter.

241 kept close watch on the area and waited until both teams were ready to go before giving the order.

[Go in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Go, go, go!]

Simultaneously both the eastern and the northern doors were kicked open and stun grenades were thrown in. 494 covered his ears and closed his eyes as the flashbangs detonated with a deafening sound. A second later 494 moved in with his weapon raised, closely followed by Andrews.

They kept close to the walls, one on each side of the corridor, to make themselves harder targets to hit. A soldier came stumbling out of a room a few meters in front of them and was immediately taken out. Several voices could be heard screaming and yelling orders.

494 threw another flashbang into a room and followed closely behind the detonation. The three enemies in the room were sleeping when the first flashbangs detonated and were knocked almost unconscious from the last one. 494 took them out with short, controlled bursts. This was what he'd trained for his whole life and every move, every decision, was as automatic as breathing. Utilizing the sudden calm in the fight, he took a second to replace the half-spent clip in his gun with a full one. After a quick examination of the room, he grabbed a few papers and stuffed them into a pocket. They had no time to read through the material they found, so they had to grab what they could and hope they got something of value.

Exiting the room he rejoined Andrews in their advance down the corridor. They took turns progressing down the corridor, making sure to cover each other. An explosion suddenly rocked the building and pieces of concrete rained down from the ceiling. 494 gave it a quick glance before they moved on. Apparently the building had been damaged at some point and wasn't as sturdy as it once had been. He took position low on one knee, close to the wall as he waited for Andrews to move past him. He was just about to rise and move forward when a shot came out of nowhere. Andrews staggered and went down with a bullet wound in his left thigh.

"Get down!" Andrews's scream was accompanied by the all too familiar metallic sound of a grenade bouncing on a concrete floor. 494 dove through a nearby doorway seconds before the grenade detonated. Another second later he was on his feet again, moving toward the door and the corridor. He had to get Andrews out from here. A rumbling sound shook the building and a bullet struck the doorjamb right above his head as he reached the corridor.

494 threw himself to the ground and sent a short burst through the chest of the enemy soldier firing at him. Another detonation shook the building and suddenly the onslaught became too much for the damaged framework. The last thing 494 saw before the roof caved in between them was Andrews being dragged away by two enemies.

494 scrambled to his feet and blurred out of the door as the building collapsed behind him.

----- 

A/N: One more chapter to go.

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	5. Chapter Five

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Disclaimer: See chapter one. 

A/N: The fifth and last chapter that ends Hostile Territory.

Thanks to Infie for beta work, ideas and everything else. This is her work just as much as mine.

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**Chapter 5**

494 sprinted away from the building and jumped over the low concrete wall to take cover. Somewhere inside the building something exploded with a loud bang. Bricks and other debris fell down around the building.

"Damn idiots," 494 grumbled. "Storing explosives in Head Quarters."

Carefully he popped his head up over the wall and took a quick look around. The building was mostly destroyed. Anyone who'd been inside when the last explosion went off would be dead, or at least buried alive. Andrews and his captors had been pretty close to a window when the ceiling had caved in between them, and he estimated their chances of survival to be high. If they had moved when the building first started to collapse.

[Six to team, status report. Over.] 909's voice came over the radio.

[Two to Six, unharmed. Location, east side of the building.]

"Three to Six, unharmed and secure, north side. Four is down with a leg-wound. Probably captured," 494 reported to his Commanding Officer.

[Five to Six, still in position. Four hostiles are moving out south of the building. Four is with them and appears to be conscious but injured.]

[Six to Five, do you have a clear shot?]

[Five to Six, two targets confirmed, two targets negative.]

[Six to Five, Affirmative. Prepare to return to base and proceed to the extraction point.]

What the hell!? 494's eyes widened in shock as he heard his CO issue orders to abandon their fellow soldier. Worse than that, if they left Andrews here they would be just as good as dead when they returned home. Couldn't 909 understand that?

"Three to Six, we need to retrieve Lt. Andrews alive before we extract." And, they didn't have any time to waste. The harbor was only a block away and if the hostiles reached a boat they would get away.

[Six to Three, negative. Four is MIA and we're pulling out. Understood?]

494 growled low in his throat, perfectly aware that it would be loud enough for the other X5's to hear over the radio.

"If we leave without Andrews we're dead," he said in a flat voice. "Five, take the shots, I'm going after Four."

*****

241 swallowed and hesitated for a second. Her Commanding Officer had ordered her to move out, but something inside her screamed at her how wrong it was. When 494 ordered her to take the shot the situation became even more chaotic. If she followed the 494's orders, she would probably be court martialed when they got back, if they got back. But at the same time, she realized that 494 might be right. Andrews was there to evaluate them and if he didn't come back that hardly spoke in their favor, did it? Making a quick decision, she responded her fellow soldier.

[Five to Three, only one target still confirmed.]

[Three to Five, take the shot.] 494's voice was slightly breathless as the response came over the radio. 241 understood he must be in pursuit of the enemy.

Drawing a deep breath, she let out half the air and centered the crosshairs on the enemy soldier.

*****

Andrews' leg was burning up. The pain made it hard to think straight. The wound wasn't fatal, it had missed the artery, the larger veins and the bone. But the bullet had gone straight through he muscle in his upper thigh and the leg was useless. There was no chance for him to escape on his own. His head hurt something fierce from where it had struck the ground when they threw him out of the window. Still, it was a lot better than being left in the building. It had gone up in a ball of smoke and fire, and the debris had taken its toll on his captors. One of the enemy soldiers had been hit by a flying brick on his left shoulder and his arm hung limp at his side, his right hand holding the ever present AK-47.

Two others were dragging Andrews between them, bouncing his injured leg on the ground, sending shockwaves of pain through his body. The fourth soldier, uninjured and armed like the others, was bringing up the rear, moving partially turned around to cover their retreat. They had almost reached the end of the street and were turning around the corner of a building when the soldier's head exploded in a cloud of blood and brain matter. The body dropped to the ground with all the grace of a sack of potatoes. The part of Andrews' brain that was still working despite the pain knew that the shot had came from the girl with the rifle. A couple hundred meters distance, a moving target and she'd hit him right in the head. The soldier in him was impressed.

*****

[Five to Three, target down.]

"Affirmative," 494 responded as he leaped over the wreck of a burned out car.

[Move out now!] 909 ordered over the radio. [This is insubordination!]

494 ignored the voice as he sprinted around a pile of rubble.

[With all respect, Sir. If we leave without Lt. Andrews we're dead anyway.] 962 said softly over the radio.

[The colonel will hear about this.] 909 grumbled in response.

And he'll rip you a new one when he finds out, 494 almost responded. He was rapidly closing in on the escaping soldiers and passed the almost headless body of the one 241 took out.

He could hear distant shouts from several soldiers and occasional gunshots when the more nervous ones thought they saw something. More hostiles were closing in on their position and the longer the rescue took, the harder it would be to get away. "Six, return to base and prepare our extraction. We'll join as soon as we can." He had no authority to issue the order, and everyone knew it, yet no one protested. 241 and 962 knew they had to get Andrews back and 909 realized that protesting would only waste time they didn't have.

909 took of in a blur toward the building they had used as base. 962 was already on the move, following 494 in pursuit of Andrews.

*****

Andrews gritted his teeth, trying as hard as he could not to scream as his injured leg bounced off the stone steps of the stairs. They were climbing down toward a boat and he could see several people working frantically to get it ready. His eyes widened when he recognised Milosevich among them. He was standing in the stern of the boat, screaming at one of the soldiers as he threw something overboard. Their eyes locked briefly when the soldiers dragged him out on the pier, and a cold smile played in the corner of Milosevich's mouth.

*****

494 rounded the last corner and dropped to one knee, surveying the area before he moved on. Rushing out blindly and getting shot wouldn't help Andrews. The harbor was fairly large, and it looked a lot larger in its empty state. The war had made sure that most of the boats that once would have been anchored here were either someplace safe, or sunk. The only movement he could see came from the pier where the soldiers had dragged Andrews. He could see the top of a small boat and a figure in uniform was standing at the wheel, hammering at it with his fists in frustration. 494 smiled slightly as he took in the scene. One should always have the escape planned and checked out. An engine that keeps going wrong was not something you wanted to deal with when the shit hit the fan.

Suddenly the motor came to life. 494 took off at a dead run toward the boat. As he closed in on the boat he could see Andrews lying on the pier with two soldiers standing over him.

One of the soldiers on the boat spotted him and shouted a warning. 494 dodged to the left and threw himself to the ground as the green-clad figures opened fire. He squeezed off a few rounds in response, more to make them stay low than in actual hope of hitting someone. Three soldiers on the boat continued to fire in his direction as the two on the pier tried to drag Andrews onboard.

Suddenly one of the men on the boat fell with three holes in his chest. Almost before anyone could react, a second one took a hit in his shoulder. 494 glanced around and immediately spotted 962 about 50 meters behind him and slightly to his right. Damn nice shot from that distance, 494 thought as he rolled twice and got to his feet again.

Shouts could be heard from the boat, and the engines throttled up as the boat started to pull away from the pier. One of the soldiers on the pier took off at a run and jumped on board just before the boat got out of reach. The second one let out a string of curses when he saw his fellow soldiers abandon him and turned to Andrews.

494 watched the soldier raise his weapon with a dead look in his eyes and aim for Andrews. The man knew he couldn't escape, and the only thing on his mind was to take one more enemy with him before he died. 494 squeezed off a three-shot burst as he ran. He cursed his aim when only one of the bullets hit the target. The shot hit the man on the right side of his chest and spun him around slightly. The 7.62 mm bullets from his AK-47 riddled the ground only a few inches from Andrews head, spraying him with stone splinters. A second later a three-shot burst from 494's weapon hit the enemy soldier square in the chest.

Andrews' left hand instinctively went up to his face and wiped away the blood from the small splinter wounds. A sigh of relief escaped from his mouth as he saw 494 jump down on the pier and land beside him. Then he remembered who was on the boat.

"Milosevich," he got out between gritted teeth. "On the boat."

494's head snapped up and he raised his gun, thumbing the selector to automatic fire.

Andrews cursed silently as he watched the boy empty the rest of his clip at the boat without any visible result. He couldn't believe Milosevich would get away again. That man had more lives than a cat.

494 dropped his MP-10 and unhooked a grenade from his belt. He took off in a blur along the pier, running a lot faster than the rapidly receding boat. As he reached the end of the pier he pulled the pin and hurled the grenade at the boat. The small metallic item flew through the air, straight toward the open rear end of the distant boat. It hit the man at the wheel full force in the small of his back, causing him to slump down over the wheel. The boat turned sharply to the right as the driver lost control, and was heading straight toward a breakwater. Not that it would matter in the long run, as the grenade bounced off the man's back and down into the boat. A second later it exploded, instantly killing the driver and two more men. The shrapnel from the grenade penetrated the deck of the boat and continued through the walls of the fuel tank.

Andrews could only shake his head as the boat exploded in a ball of flames. He hadn't seen the body, but if Milosevich survived that he was going to eat his combat boots. At least one thing was for sure, he thought as he watched 494 jog along the pier in his direction. That kid was so going to pitch for the Orioles.

He let out a small laugh at the weird thought and immediately winced as pain shot through his head. Ouch, painkillers first, then laughing.

"We've got to move," 494 said as he reached Andrews. "This is probably going to hurt."

Andrews gritted his teeth as 494 lifted him off the ground and slung him over his shoulders. 

"What the hell are you kids?" he managed to get out.

He didn't even need to see 494's face to know the boy was smirking. 962 joined them when they reached the stairs and quickly prepared an anaesthetic injection for him. Andrews sighed in relief as the nerves in his leg went numb and the pain faded away. He wouldn't be able to use the leg anyway so taking away the pain was the best option available.

"Three to Five, status report. Over," 494 said into his microphone.

[Five to Three, enemies approaching from the east. Suggest immediate retreat and extraction. Over.]

"Three to Five, cover fire. Make them slow down."

[Affirmative.]

494 adjusted his grip on Andrews, and with 962 to cover them they started to move toward the park and the hidden boat.

*****

909 reached their temporary base in record time, moving too fast for any enemies to spot him in the moonlight. He quickly uncovered the satellite radio in the corner and set it up on the table.

"Cyclone to base, over."

The response from the communications officer back at Manticore came immediately.

[Base to Cyclone, status report. Over.]

"Mission accomplished. Preparing to extract. Over."

[Affirmative, any complications?]

909 hesitated for a moment before he decided to spill the whole story as it happened.

"Lt. Andrews was injured and captured. As the Commanding Officer I ordered the team to retreat and extract once the mission was accomplished. 494 disobeyed my order and went after Lt. Andrews. 962 and 241 joined in the rescue attempt. Over."

There was a moment of silence before the voice responded and 909 knew that the Com officer was passing what he said on to his superiors. The voice that responded next wasn't the Com officer, but it was still familiar.

[Was the rescue attempt successful?] Sandoval wasn't one to waste words on small talk over the radio.

"Yes Sir," 909 responded. "They're on their way to the extraction point now."

[Understood. Proceed to the extraction point and vacate the area. No more contact. Base out.]

"Affirmative, Cyclone out."

*****

Back at Manticore Sandoval drew a deep breath and unconsciously wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. That had been way to close for his liking. Now he understood why Lydecker had been so set on sending 494 with the team, despite his past. If 494 hadn't been there to question the orders, Andrews would have been left behind and that would probably have sealed the fate of the Manticore program.

Leaving the communication center, he walked through the corridors to his own office. Half a minute later he was explaining the situation to Colonel Lydecker.

*****

494 grunted as he jumped out of the way of yet another bullet. Dodging bullets while carrying someone on your shoulders was a lot harder than he'd hoped. 962 was somewhere behind them, wreaking havoc among their followers. 494 could hear the angry shouts from their pursuers and the pained screams from those his fellow X5 only managed to injure. 241 had picked off a few with her rifle before she'd been forced to leave her position and head for the extraction point. It had slowed the enemy down a little but not enough to make sure they got away safely. Unfortunately it hadn't been the only group heading in their direction.

Another barrage of gunfire erupted behind them and 494 threw himself around the corner of a building to avoid getting hit. It was impossible to say who was the more surprised of the two. The green clad Serbian soldier who suddenly stood face to face, or rather chest to face, with a camouflage clad kid. Or 494, who had been too busy dodging bullets to pay full attention to his surroundings.

494 was the one who reacted first, unceremoniously dropping Andrews to the ground and moving in for the kill.

Andrews hit the ground hard, grunting in pain as he jarred his shoulder on something hard and sharp. He spun his head around just in time to see 494 jump straight into the air and plant a boot clad foot in the face of the enemy soldier. The hit was hard enough to practically mash the man's nose flat. The soldier staggered back, temporarily blinded and more than a little disoriented. 494 spun around on his supporting leg and hit the man with a spinning kick, full force, at the side of the head. Andrews winced as he heard bones break under the impact. That guy wouldn't be getting up quickly, if ever.

494 grabbed his MP-10 and placed a single bulled in the soldier's forehead, effectively making sure that the man would never get up.

As he grabbed Andrews again and continued toward the extraction point 494 clicked on his microphone.

"Three to team, status report. Over."

[Six to Three, at the boat.]

[Two to Three, covering your back. Move on.]

[Five to Three, crossing the minefield. Proceeding to extraction point.]

494 took a quick look around and set of in a light jog. It wouldn't be comfortable for Andrews but right now speed was what was important. 909 and 241 would have the boat ready when they got there and all they had to do was survive to get through the minefield.

*****

A few minutes later they reached the outskirts of the park and moved in between the trees. This time 494 knew how to cross the minefield and did so within a minute. He had, however, to assume that the enemy soldiers also knew the way through the field. They needed to delay their followers long enough for them to get clear from the shore. They would be vulnerable when they got into the boat and before they got out of reach from the shore.

494 carefully placed Andrews on the ground again and started removing items from his backpack. Working quickly he set up two Claymore mines with about 20 meters between them and connected both of them to a single remote detonator. 494 had just finished covering the explosives with a few dead leaves when 962 came running, full speed, through the minefield. With a jump and a roll he took cover behind a tree next to 494.

"They're right behind me. At least 20 soldiers and more on the way after them," 962 reported, slightly out of breath.

494 nodded. "Take Andrews to the boat, I'll delay them." He smiled evilly as he held up the remote control detonator.

962 nodded and hefted Andrews up on his shoulders. The two X5's moved together through the park a little bit before 494 stopped and took cover behind a large oak while 962 continued with Andrews.

It didn't take long before the first green clad soldiers appeared at the opening of the minefield. 494 allowed the first of them to get past the first claymore mine and a few of them even got past the second before he thumbed the detonator.

The result was devastating. The concave shapes of the claymore mines allowed them to direct most of the power of the explosion in a chosen direction. 494 had placed both the mines to make maximum damage to the advancing soldiers. The ones who were closest to the explosions were literally ripped to pieces. The unlucky ones who were a little further away all got hit by several shrapnel and, in most cases, suffered fatal injuries.

A few of the stragglers who hadn't reached the minefield yet reacted to the new threat and diverted their courses, temporally forgetting about the minefield. Within five seconds the first mine had been triggered and warned them about the dangers of their positions. Two more soldiers fell to mines before they could react.

The three soldiers who had passed both the minefield and the claymores before the explosions reacted like anyone without enough training would have done. They turned to face the explosions and the new threat. Three short, silenced bursts later they had joined their comrades among the ranks of the dead.

494 shook his head and blinked a few times to clear his eyes of the images. The ambush hadn't been pretty and it hadn't been fair. But the only ones who fought fair were the dead ones.

Leaving the slaughter behind he blurred through the park and reached the shore in no time.

*****

909 and 241 had dragged the boat to the shore and filled it with air from the remaining tube. They proceeded to pull out several soft packages with clothes and quickly changed. 962 arrived a short time later with Andrews on his shoulders. Leaving the injured soldier to his comrades, he quickly changed into his issued clothes. Together they placed Andrews in the boat. 241 checked his leg to make sure the wound wasn't bleeding too much while 909 and 962 stood guard, waiting for 494 to return.

They heard the explosions from the east and knew that 494 had sprung his ambush. A minute later their sensitive hearing picked up the rapid footsteps from a X5 in a full run.

494 emerged from the woods and flashed 962 a quick grin before he too changed into his other clothes. Smearing a little dirt on his face for effect he stuffed his combat equipment away and got into the boat.

*****

The five figures that left the shore in the rubber boat didn't look like five soldiers returning from a successful mission. The adult was clearly a soldier, but it was equally obvious that he was injured. The four 'kids' had put away any kinds of weaponry and other military equipment and were now clad in dirty, torn clothes that had seen their best days several years earlier.

A close examination wouldn't fool anyone, but a quick glance wouldn't be enough to reveal what they were. And that was all they needed.

Andrews sighed as he took the radio 909 had pulled out from his backpack. He turned to 494 who sat beside him and nudged his side. When he got 494's attention he raised his eyebrows questioningly. "So, wanna tell me what you are?"

494 smirked. "What's in it for me?" he asked, with a humorous glint in his eyes.

Andrews couldn't help but chuckle. "I'll tell you what," he started. "You tell me about you guys and I'll tell you all you need to know about sports."

494 grinned. "Deal."

Andrews grinned back and clicked on the radio. "Cyclone to Dallas. Cyclone to Dallas, over."

[Dallas to Cyclone, we read you five by five. Over.]

"Cyclone is extracting, need a pickup here guys, before I need to swim."

The voice on the other end of the radio laughed out loud. [Affirmative Cyclone. We'll have a cab standing by. Just follow the signal. Over.]

"Sounds great Dallas. Make that cab a van though, I have some hitchhikers with me."

[Cyclone, say again.]

"I have four kids with me. Refugees who got away with me. I saved their lives and they helped me complete the mission." Andrews winked at 494 who rolled is eyes in response.

[Roger that Cyclone, we'll prepare the guest rooms.] Dallas responded with a laugh.

"Good, our ETA is 20 minutes. Cyclone out."

*****

About 20 minutes later the small boat pulled up next to the partially submerged form of USS Dallas. The 688-class attack submarine had lain still in the same spot for the past three days, waiting for Cyclone to arrive. The crew was bored out of their mind and longing for some action.

"Remember to look scared and worn down, now," Andrews smirked to his young companions.

"No idea how to do that," 494 grinned and produced his best wide-eyed, impressed face.

Andrews burst out laughing. "I guess that'll do. Just remember, no talking."

The four X5's just nodded and 494 made a zipping motion over his mouth.

A hatch opened in and a ladder was thrown down to the boat. A submariner quickly climbed down and helped Andrews up the ladder. The X5's followed behind and 494 let the air out of the boat before he climbed up after the submariner. Without the air to support it the boat quickly disappeared beneath the surface and sunk to the bottom of the Adriatic Sea, never to be found again.

Inside the submarine, Andrews got his leg looked at by the ship's medic. After that, he and the 'refugees' were placed in the captains room with an armed guard outside the door. It didn't matter that Andrews was a soldier. He didn't have clearance to move around the submarine, and the kids weren't even Americans.

USS Dallas set course south to rendezvous with the USS Constellation, the oldest carrier still in use by the US Navy.

*****

Several hours later, Andrews and the X5's were escorted to one of the ladders and up to the hatch. The submarine was rolling slightly in the waves, but holding their balance wasn't a problem. At the horizon, the grey shape of the carrier could be seen. A helicopter was approaching fast from the south.

Getting on the chopper was mildly tricky for Andrews with his injured leg, but easy for the X5's. The flight to the carrier took only a few minutes, and when they landed they were immediately escorted to a few empty cabins.

Andrews was soon summoned. He left the X5's alone with a guard outside the door. 494 took the opportunity to relax and, for the first time in several days, got some sleep.

When he woke up, it was to see the door open and a sailor bringing in a food-cart. The meal was excellent, not only compared to the rations they'd eaten the past few days, but also compared to what they got at Manticore. The energy boost might not have been as high, but it tasted a lot better. 494 took his time to enjoy the meal and then went back to sleep.

His internal clock told him he'd been asleep for about 6 hours when he woke up the next time. This time it was Andrews at the door, returning with a smile on his face and crutches to support his injured leg.

"Hey kid," he grinned. "The Admiral wants to see you."

494 raised his eyebrows but Andrews refused to say anything more. Mildly confused, the young soldier followed the older one as he limped through the corridors of the gigantic ship. They reached the Admiral's cabin in a few minutes and Andrews knocked on the door.

"Come in," someone answered from the other side of the door. Andrews turned the doorknob and motioned 494 inside.

494 slowly stepped inside, taking in the room as he walked. He finally let his eyes settle on the man behind a desk in front of a porthole.

"Ahh, welcome 494," the man smiled.

494 stiffened slightly, immediately on his guard.

"I have someone here who would to have a word with you," the Admiral said.

494 spun around as the door to an adjacent room opened. He immediately snapped to attention when Colonel Lydecker walked in.

"Stand easy!" Lydecker said and took a seat behind the desk. He nodded to the Admiral, who left the cabin with a nod of his own.

"I'll be on the bridge if you need me."

"Thank you, Sir," Lydecker responded. He turned to 494, who met his gaze calmly.

"Welcome back, 494. I've heard Lt. Andrews' initial report and I must say I'm very pleased with the results." The tone was friendly but there was no smile on his face. 494 hadn't expected one. Lydecker had probably forgotten how to smile a long time ago.

"I'll be awaiting your full report once you're back at Manticore again," Lydecker continued. "As for now, we have more important matters to take care of." Lydecker picked up a briefcase from beside the desk and pulled out a blue folder.

"We have a new mission for you."

FIN 

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Authors endnote: It didn't come out exactly the way I had planned but I hope you have enjoyed the story. This story is a part of the Manticore Mission files created by Infie and it's possible (but not certain) that there will be a sequel of sorts dealing with the next mission 494 is assigned. Look out for any story by Infie called _Infiltrator_. 

Thank you for reading and for the feedback I've received

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